THE FAMILY TABLE: Poems can feed a restless soul through last chill of winter

SAN ANGELO, Texas - "Our final, definite leaving of the gardens came one cold winter day, all too appropriate to our feelings and the state of the world. A sudden moment of sunshine peopled the gardens with all the friends and others who had passed through them. Ah, there would be another garden, the same friends, possibly, or no, probably new ones, and there would be other stories to tell and to hear."

— The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook

The cold January weather is getting to me and I'm yearning for spring. I want warm sunshine and bright flowers, sweet green baby plants pushing their way out of the dark earth. Instead, I'm surrounded by bare trees and brown grass and the cold.

Fortunately, it's about time for winter/early spring plantings and I'm contemplating what seeds to start up. Perhaps peas, some radish? Sorting through the seed drawer puts me in a happy mood, fills me with anticipation. It reminds me spring is just around the corner.

However, there is still a stretch of time between actually planting the seeds and tasting the first harvest. So until then, I feed my restless soul with poems about spring, food that reminds me of spring and staying busy. Until next time, happy eating!

Green Pea Soup

(Adapted, courtesy of Food Network)

Here's the recipe for a Green Pea Soup, an adapted Ellie Krieger recipe. While this uses frozen peas, it still has a beautiful verdant color and makes me think of the sweet, crunchy peas I hope to pick from my garden later in the year.

3 Add the broth, tarragon, salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil.

4 Add the peas and cook just until defrosted.

5 Take off heat and add the spinach.

6 I used my immersion blender to blend the soup right in the pot. However, you can use a blender. Just work in two batches. If using blender, you could divide the raw spinach and add it to each batch in the blender. Be careful working with hot soup!

7 Serves 4 to 6. This can be served hot or chilled. Ladle into bowls. Stir the yogurt so that it is smooth, and top each serving with a swirl of yogurt.

Lemony Linguine with Broccoli and Red Bell Peppers

Not only is this dish bright to look at, but the lemon adds a brightness to the flavors and wakes up the taste buds. You could add shrimp or chicken to this if you wanted, but it's pretty good as is. Enjoy!

Rashda Khan is a San Angelo-based food enthusiast, writer and culinary instructor. Contact her at rkhan@wcc.net or 325-656-2824. Follow her @SpiceBites on Twitter for more kitchen adventures, cooking tips and local food happenings. Her blog, Hot Curries & Cold Beer, is at http://hotcurriesandcoldbeer.blogspot.com.